The next morning, Kasis awoke before dawn and gathered his supplies. The party was to meet in the throne room at sunrise. Kasis was the first to arrive, likely because he was the closest to the throne room. The King and Queen greeted him with a smile and informed him that the others were to arrive shortly.
The next to arrive was a young woman with orange hair in a braid that tumbled down her back all the way past her knees. She had lovely white skin, and the right side of her face was splattered in a more rosy shade of vitiligo. Her eyes were black and dimly reflected the light coming from the glowshrooms on the chandelier. She wore all black, and a pair of rectangular wire glasses perched on her button-shaped nose. Her four wings were a fantastic purple color, long, thin, and rounded in shape at the ends. A wisp of blondish hair escaped her braid and framed her youthful face.
She bowed deeply and respectfully to the King and Queen. She then turned to Kasis, and, with a puzzled look on her face, asked, "are you the human? Are you coming with us?"
"Yes," he said, thinking to himself that that particular phrase was getting old. "My name is Kasis."
"Sayani of House Ra'ven, at your service. Unofficial official assassin." she chuckled. "The faeries don't need a 'real' assassin, you see. The Ivy takes care of our enemies for us. Sometimes, though, I get hired to take out a human who almost discovered us, but that's about it. I guess if you weren't trustworthy and turned out to be a vicious, lying, filthy traitor, I'd get to kill you."
Kasis laughed nervously and fell silent. He was saved by the arrival of Vieko, who bowed to the royals before clapping Kasis on the back, almost knocking him off his feet. Sayani laughed.
Then came another woman, short and pear-shaped in physique. Her hair was vibrant pink, shaved on the sides like a man's. Her eyes were a swirl of orange and magenta, and golden hoops hung from her pointed ears. She was fair-skinned, and her vitiligo slashed across her face like warpaint. She had a long, thin tail that poked out from under her tunic, ending in a cone-shaped formation of gradient pink-to-orange spikes. Her wings were shaped like four diamonds, the top set pink and the bottom set orange. She saw Kasis, rolled her eyes, and did not talk other than saying her name, Yanae of House Jemen, when Kasis introduced himself.
Then arrived a pair of faeries, a girl and a young man, with similar features. They both had medium skin, similar vitiligo patterns, and dark hair.
The young man wore his long hair in a messy bun at the base of his neck. His hooded eyes were deep navy blue with heavy lashes, and his wings were blood crimson. He wore a black cape and had a long sword strapped to his hip. His face was thin and angular.
The girl's face, in contrast, was very soft and round, with big, dual-colored eyes of sky blue and amber, oozing innocence and joy. She was short and round and wore only soft blues. Her hair was cut at her shoulders and she had fluffy bangs that fell into her eyes. Her wings were sky blue, big and round, and more similar to a butterfly's than any of the other faeries Kasis had met.
"Hello!" the girl said with a big smile. "My name is Alodie, and this is my brother, Altaire. Altaire can't speak, so I interpret his sign language for him. I don't really fight."
Altaire nodded and gazed in no particular direction.
Lastly arrived a faerie who was easily the most beautiful person Kasis had ever seen in his life. She was average height and wore a long, golden robe that draped elegantly over her subtle curves. Her wings were the color of autumn sunshine, and a delicate wreath of Ivy rested atop her head. Her hair was long, dirty blonde waves tumbling down her body like a waterfall, cut just above her ankles. Wise, enchanting golden eyes peeked out from heavy lashes. Her skin was fair as snow swirled with golden caramel. She smiled at the group, the sort of smile that felt forced.
"Good morning, all," she said. "My name is Lorre of House Fetheren."
Vieko mumbled in Kasis's ear, "Fetheren are a bunch of scholarly snobs. Always so sophisticated and uptight. I can tell she's going to be the unwanted voice of reason."
The king, seeing they had all arrived, began: "Good morning, adventurers.
"Today we send another quest to find the cure for Blackwing. Each of you volunteered out of the goodness of your hearts for this journey. For this, I am grateful.
"You are warriors, scholars, fighters. You will be the ones to save us. I can feel it in my very bones.
"Though you may be very different, you are united under the same goal: Find the cure. For the faeries, whether healthy, sick, or long vanished, you serve your kingdom proudly. With these words, go out and save us."
...
Shortly after, the party departed to the east. Kasis was clueless about where they were going or what their plan was. The forest was quiet, but not in any way Kasis had experienced before– the silence was full of life. Birds flitted from tree to tree, the wind rustled the branches above them, and the Meru's hooves padded softly on the floor, leaves crunching beneath their feet. He heard Lorre riding a ways behind him, and decided to take the opportunity to introduce himself.
He pulled back on Rie's horns to slow down, but she wasn't paying attention to his command. He pulled harder and nudged her stomach, and, without batting an eyelash, she stopped and reared onto her hind legs, throwing Kasis from the saddle. He landed on the ground, a sharp pain like a sudden bolt of lightning shooting through his ankle. His eyes watered, and he forced himself to take deep, soothing breaths.
"Are you alright?" Lorre asked, stopping her Meru and fluttering gently to the ground. "Everyone, halt! Man down!" She stretched out her hand to help him up.
He batted it away and gritted his teeth as he tried to stand. "I'm fine. Just a little bruised–" he winced as his ankle gave out beneath him and he fell. Rie whinnied in concern, her four large, round eyes full of regret.
"Leaves of Ivy, are you okay?" Alodie asked as she and the rest of the group rushed to his aid.
Yanae rolled her eyes. "If he was a faerie, this wouldn't have happened. First of all, he'd know how to ride properly, and second, he wouldn't have fallen. He would have caught himself with his wings."
Sayani punched her in the arm while Lorre bent down and examined the ankle. "Hold still."
Kasis tried to pull his foot away, but Lorre caught it with lightning speed and glared at him. "I said, hold still."
"Sorry."
Lorre carefully rolled up the leg of his pants and removed his boot. Her gentle, graceful fingers brushed against his skin. Goosebumps crawled up his arms and his heart raced as she began to press gently against different places on his ankle, nodding when he yelled and jerked his foot away for a second time. This time, Lorre let go and turned to the rest of the group.
"I need the cone of a Kerni Pine, six leaves from a Kola fern, two handfuls of Dewberry Bark, three Ravenfeather reeds, and a blue Glowshroom. Be sure it has plenty of spores when it gets here." The faeries just stood there, looking to each other to take responsibility.
"Now, if you don't mind. Unless you'd rather waste a week's travel only a day from the village?"
They all scurried off to find what she needed, each headed in a different direction.
"Is it broken?" Kasis asked once they'd disappeared into the trees.
"No, just sprained." She stood and dug around in her pack.
"Oh." He paused. "How do you know so much about healing?" he asked, referring to the medicinal plants she'd ordered the others gather.
She shrugged.
Kasis sighed and waited for the others to return, gazing off into the forest. His breath caught in his throat when he saw a flash of silver leap across his vision.
"Lorre?" he asked, pointing at the creature.
"What?" She turned to see what he saw and gasped in disbelief.
Standing perfectly still between two towering oaks was a beautiful, majestic stag. It looked at them with five, bright eyes arranged in an arch over its snout. A huge, regal rack of antlers sprouted from its head like a crown, and five smaller and sharper horns occupied the space between them. A long tumble of white fur, beginning just below its chin and ending above its feet, boasted several other horns that hung sort of like a necklace sprouting from the cloud-like mass. A long, fluffy tail curled sharply and hung close to the ground.
After a few seconds, the stag turned and bounded away, disappearing into the forest as if it had never been. Once it was gone, Lorre's eyes lit up as she turned to Kasis, her soft face split by a huge, childlike grin.
"Did you see that?!" she asked.
"What was it?"
"A Coroni Stag. I've never seen one before! They say that if you look it in its eyes, it will bless you with joy and good fortune for a year! And its antlers are said to cure even the deadliest diseases if you can get your hands on one."
"Could it cure the blight?"
"Theoretically, yes, but we'd never try it, of course. They say it curses those who harm it. Harming a Coroni Stag is sin."
"Oh," he said. "Not an option, then?"
"No."
"Good to know."
Soon Altaire returned and gestured for them to come.
"Did you find a campsite?" Lorre asked him.
He nodded silently.
"Lovely. Kasis, can you ride your Meru?"
"Yes…but I can't get up onto her back."
"Right. Let me help," she said. Lorre scooped him up bridal style, hovering a few feet in the air, and plopped him into the saddle. He yelped and turned as red as a beet, surprised by her strength.
They followed Altaire through the forest until they reached an open area with a healthy view of the cerulean skies. All the Meru had been gathered and tied firmly to a tree. Lorre helped Kasis down and sat him on one of the several logs that had already been gathered and arranged in a circle around a circle of stones, ready to house a blazing fire. She then tied their Meru with the others.
The rest of the group gradually arrived with the supplies Lorre had requested. She set to work preparing them in a pot over the fire, gently mashing the ingredients into a pulpy salve.
While she worked, she ordered Vieko to collect water from the nearby Kwonne River, Sayani and Altaire to hunt for their dinner, and Yanae to forage for spices. Alodie remained with the two of them, sitting across the fire from Kasis on another log.
"Hi," she said. "I'm Alodie. What's your name?"
"Kasis."
"That's a nice name. How are you finding our forest?" she asked as Lorre pressed the warm salve onto Kasis's ankle and wrapped it in clean bandages. The bandages had a slight greenish tint to them, as if they'd been made of plants.
"Pretty great," Kasis replied. "Much better than home."
"Why'd you leave the Clearing?" Alodie asked, and immediately covered her mouth. "Sorry if that's too personal. You don't have to answer."
"It's okay. I was starving and miserable. There was no point in staying."
"Oh." she frowned. "Why were you miserable?"
He glared at the flames. "My dad."
Lorre patted him on the knee and sat next to him, not saying anything.
"Well," Alodie said, "If you ever just need anyone to listen to you, let me know."
"Thank you," he smiled.
Altaire sauntered into the camp with a bucket full of river water, which he set over the fire before sitting down. "Hey."
They talked for a little while about nothing in particular. Lorre stood and walked over to her Meru, returning a few moments later with a little cup full of a creamy white liquid. She plucked a fruit from an Ivy vine and squeezed the juice into the cup, giving it a pinkish hue. She drank it slowly, listening to the conversation.
"What's that?" Kasis asked her.
"Meru milk," she replied, taking another sip. "We drink it almost as much as water. I like to sweeten mine with Ivyfruit."
She went into detail about the things you could put in Meru milk. While she talked, Yanae, Sayani, and Altaire returned with an odd animal and a basket full of vegetables and herbs. Lorre began to prepare the food, putting it into the pot alongside some more milk to thicken the broth. She explained each ingredient to Kasis, and he took note of everything she said.
While dinner was cooking, everyone milked their Meru (except Kasis) and sat talking about random things– family, plants, legends– whatever came to mind.
Soon dinner was served in handmade wooden bowls. They talked until sunset, and by the end of the day they knew each other decently well. Kasis noticed Vieko flirting with Altaire, and at some point, Sayani and Yanae snuck off together and returned red in the face. Everyone asked Kasis questions about being a human, and in return, he learned much about the faeries.
Eventually, though, Lorre told the group it was time to sleep. Alodie showed Kasis how to set up his sleep mat, and everyone told each other good night with happy smiles.
As he lay on the ground, he listened to the sounds of the forest as he thought about his new friends. Crickets chirped in the distance, frogs could be heard croaking in the river, and the wind gently flitted through the trees. Thousands of glittering stars twinkled above them. Kasis identified dozens of shapes before finally drifting off to sleep.